Science (2 Viewers)

[Goodbye]

Just wondering, seeing how theres talk about a shortage in scientists and all (which I doubt), then why are career opportunties so limited? It is that by shortage they mean those with "extreme" higher education eg PHDs and Doctorates and that these are the places where opportunites are?

Odd.

 

[Zantor]

What makes you think that career opportunities are limited? There are lots of jobs available for up and coming scientists.

Depending on what you specialize in at university, decides which area you are capable of working in.

 

[xoa]

The 'shortage' is of elite scientific researchers, not of plain vanilla science graduates. Unemployment is also a problem at the masters and doctorate level. Just talk to some Ph.D candidates at your local university to get an idea. Rather than just adding to the excess labour pool, the government should try to improve support for existing science students and graduates.

Unemployment rates (4 months after graduation) for a variety of science majors at my university:

- Mathematics: 56%
- Environmental Science: 31.6%
- Biotechnology: 19.1%
- Microbiology: 15.8%
- Medical Science: 9.8%
- Chemistry: 6.3%

 

[Nobody Listened]

The 'shortage' is of elite scientific researchers, not of plain vanilla science graduates. Unemployment is also a problem at the masters and doctorate level. Just talk to some Ph.D candidates at your local university to get an idea. Rather than just adding to the excess labour pool, the government should try to improve support for existing science students and graduates.

Unemployment rates (4 months after graduation) for a variety of science majors at my university:

- Mathematics: 56%
- Environmental Science: 31.6%
- Biotechnology: 19.1%
- Microbiology: 15.8%
- Medical Science: 9.8%
- Chemistry: 6.3%

Those Biotech figures are quite suprising.

 

[xoa]

Those Biotech figures are quite suprising.

The unemployment stats for biotech were better in previous years - "only" 17.4% in 2002 and 7% in 2001.

 

[Survivor39]

There are a number of factors that results in a shortage of scientists. Here are just a few:

- Graduates from a Bachelor's degree is not often sufficient to get a job. The best you'll end up is being a research assistant. To actually carry out your own research project, the minimum reuirement is a PhD. So many science graduate wouldn't want to study further and a lot of them switch fields.

- PhD graduates are EXPENSIVE. A lot of labs cannot afford to employ post-docs (PhD graduates).

- Funding is limited - Australia is the only developed country that decreases its funding for universities. So many labs are really struggling because they don't have enough resources to carry on research. Reagents are very expensive to buy. e.g. 10 micro-liter (0.01 ml) of reagents cost like 600 bucks... And grants are VERY competitive get so only like a third of the people applied will get funding.. so what about the other two-thirds.. How are they going to buy reagents and equipment to do more research? How are they going to employ science graduates?

So you see, that's the major problem with science and why there is a "limited" job opportunity, not because of lack of graduates, but lack of resources to support these graduates. So most graduates ends up in different fields.

 

[golfpro]

everyones problem here is obviously there field of choice for there phd, lol.

if you all choosed physics, ud be sweet, i think i read on the sydney uni website that phd grads in physics were only at the unemployment rate of 8% or 4%, something ridicuously low.

lol.

 

[xoa]

everyones problem here is obviously there field of choice for there phd, lol.

if you all choosed physics, ud be sweet, i think i read on the sydney uni website that phd grads in physics were only at the unemployment rate of 8% or 4%, something ridicuously low.

lol.

I wouldn't study physics for the career prospects either. A 4% unemployment for any PhD demographic is not so good, compared to the national unemployment rate. We also don't know how many of the other 96% are stacking shelves at a supermarket, or doing low level lab technician work.

 

[Season]

I actually was part of a Science Research Scheme where I got to hang out on a project trying to get plants to do... yeah won't go there.

But the main reasons most people won't go there is

a) even though they say there is money in the field... If you want to stay in Australia... you're pretty much on shaky ground most of the time

b) no security, I met pHders who were working as lab technitions

c) 70% of your funding is not supplied by the government, you have to obtain it from elsewhere. If the company doesn't end up liking your work then they cut your funding. Also if they don't like your results then they will also cut your funding

d) For the above reason, you can't always research what you want, with physics you have to want to do something that companies could jusify funding for, which is not always easy to do, you might end up doing somehting you don't really want, for little money

e) With little pay you can work for years and years and years and still get no major break throughs. Or I actually met a group that came so close to winning the nobel prize, but lost because the English got the break through just slightly beforehand. They'd been working on it for 6 years!

f) Geology in particular was bad, met people who had gone back to CIT to get an IT degree so they could get a job


Australia is pathetic funding wise, its only something like 17% of people who actually stay working in the science field. Its not a lack of graduates, its no funding.

 

[velox]

Actually with the mining boom, everyone wants Bsc (hons) Geology holders. Starting salary is over $80 000.

 

[Season]

That's true, but I was talking to people who wanted to stay in ACT, they didn't want to move around. There's always going to be money if you're willing to move around with the industry but if you want to stay put, its harder...

that's the impression I got ...